


Dysfunctional Decorating

by ericsonclan



Series: The Everett Bunch [9]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Decorations, F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hot Chocolate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Carley and Lee work with their kids to decorate the house for Christmas and have some chocolaty drinks afterwards.
Relationships: Carley/Lee Everett, Clementine & Marlon (Walking Dead: Done Running), Marlon & Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha & Aasim (Walking Dead: Done Running), Renata & Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: The Everett Bunch [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988578
Kudos: 3





	Dysfunctional Decorating

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

Marlon sat on the couch, his hands brushing against his guitar as he positioned it on his knee. Slowly his fingers began to pluck the strings, causing a series of notes that sounded like a familiar Christmas song. His tongue stuck out slightly while he concentrated on reading the sheet of music in front of him. The caramel colored guitar let out a sour note, causing the twelve year old to scrunch his face in annoyance. 

“Damn it,” Marlon whispered under his breath and worked to retune the guitar before starting up again. He was through the first few notes of the song when his younger sister Clementine ran down the stairs, her arms filled with white Christmas tree lights. 

“Hey, Marlon.” Clementine gave a warm smile to her brother. “Working on a Christmas song?”

“Yeah, I wanted something to make our first Christmas as a family special,” The blond scratched the back of his head with an introverted smile. “But I’m still learning how to play.” He had hoped he would learn to play the song by now to surprise the others and make it so that they would bond more together as a family. It had only been a few months since they’d become a new family and to say that it had been rocky so far would be an understatement. But Marlon was hoping that Christmas would turn that around. 

“Well, I thought it sounded good so far.” Clementine gave a soft smile towards Marlon. “You wouldn’t mind me decorating for a bit while you play, would you?”  
“Not at all,” Marlon waved a hand. “But I thought we’d start decorating when Mom and Dad got home?”

“We will with the tree and stuff,” Clementine walked over to the display table and placed down the lights on the sofa next to it. “But I couldn’t wait to decorate with my animal skulls!” Clementine’s eyes danced with excitement at the thought. 

Marlon gave a soft chuckle. “Sounds good to me,” His fingers repositioned on the strings and his full concentration returned to the song. The notes began to dance through the air, bringing to life “Silent Night”. Clementine hummed along to the song happily as she weaved the lights around and through the various animal skulls of hers. Marlon glanced up, sharing a gentle smile with his sister before returning to his playing. After a few minutes the song stopped and Clementine had finished draping her lights. With a drumroll given by Marlon, Clementine plugged in the lights, brightening up the skulls and illuminating their beauty. Marlon gave a whistle, placing down his guitar before strolling over to stand by his sister. 

“That looks awesome, Clem.” Marlon placed his hands on his hips and smiled down at her. Clementine looked up and immediately shared the smile. “Thanks. I-”

She was suddenly cut off when she heard the excited cheering of her older sister Renata coming from the kitchen. The brother and sister shared a look before strolling into the kitchen to check and see what was happening. When they did they were surprised to see Renata bouncing ecstatically by the kitchen counter. Her hands pressed on the counter while she cheered on her brother Mitch. Mitch seemed to be completely focused on whatever odd challenge he and Renata had concocted. Marlon and Clementine watched in curious silence as Mitch chugged whatever was in the mug. A small string of steam showed that the liquid was still quite warm. The brown liquid poured into his mouth but quickly overfilled it and fell down his face and throat in a steady stream. With a frantic gurgling sound, Mitch ran to the sink and started spitting out a massive white blob from his mouth along with the brown liquid. 

“Whoa! That was impressive, Mitch!” Renata gave a round of applause before a mischievous smile overtook her face. “But I’m gonna do way better!

“Bullshit!” Mitch gave a sharp cough. “No way you can drink more than I could.”

“What’s going on?” Prisha’s voice appeared from the entryway to the kitchen. Marlon and Clementine glanced back at their oldest sister. 

“Mitch and I are having a special Christmas challenge,” Renata wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “We stuff our mouths full of marshmallows then try to see how much hot cocoa we can chug. Mitch wimped out after only drinking a third of his drink.”

“Wimped out!” Mitch huffed, a competitive smile appearing on his face even though his eyes held a small level of annoyance at his sister. “Please, I bet you can’t do any better!”

“Ha!” Renata shook her head. “Ye of little faith,” She strolled over to where the marshmallows were and started stuffing her mouth. Prisha rolled her eyes at the sight and was about to walk off when Aasim’s voice appeared beside her. 

“What is happening?”

“Mit-” Renata began to talk but then started to choke. Marlon ran forward and gave her back a few whacks, clearing her airway. Renata turned to her brother and gave him a thumbs up with watery eyes. 

“Renata and I are having some good Christmas fun, “ Mitch answered with a happy smile. 

“It seems ridiculous,” Aasim looked on with disapproval.

“Thank you, I was about to say the same thing. I can’t believe-” Prisha paused in her sentence when she realized she was agreeing with Aasim. Even after all these months, Prisha’s insecurities had blocked her chances of connecting with her brother in fears that he would prove to be the smartest and make her position in the family moot. Renata’s odd laughter, half blocked by the marshmallow in her mouth, drew the other siblings’ attention to the middle child. She had successfully filled her mouth with marshmallows again and was beginning to drink the hot cocoa. A weird noise emitted from her mouth as steam poured from it. The siblings watched in awe as their sister nearly finished the cup before leaning over the sink and spitting up the marshmallows. 

“What the fuck!” Mitch’s eyes were large with disbelief. “I want a rematch!”

Renata looked up at her brother, her face completely drenched in hot cocoa. “ Anyti-” A sudden burp stretched out her word until she finished it. “Time.” The siblings all looked at each other and started to laugh at what had happened when the front door opened. Mitch and Renata were off like shots, barreling past Prisha and Aasim who started scolding their younger siblings for their rudeness when they saw their parents at the door. 

“We’re home!” Lee’s comforting voice rang out through the house. He placed down the bag of groceries and began to help Carley take off her winter jacket.

“Thanks,” Carley smiled lovingly at her husband then captured his lips in a quick kiss. 

“Bleh!” Mitch stuck out his tongue in disgust, making the couple look over at their son. 

“Mitch, “ Lee began, “That's not a very nice thing to say.”

“Yeah,” Renata scampered forward. “You’re losing major points.” She gave a teasing smile over towards her brother then looked up at her mom. “I can help you with that scarf, Mom.”

“That would be great, thank you.” Carley smiled down at her daughter, a smile that disappeared for a second when her hands touched Renata’s, surprised that they were sticky. “Renata, why are your hands sticky?” Carley asked even though she had a pretty good idea what her daughter would say.

“Mitch and I had a friendly competition. I won!” Renata declared proudly. Mitch’s frown grew at that statement. 

“What kind of competition was it?” Lee picked up the groceries when Clementine moved forward.

“I can help, Dad.” 

Lee’s smile grew; he was still getting used to having daughters and them calling him their father, even if not all of them did yet. “That would be great,” Lee and Carley began to walk to the kitchen to help unload while Renata answered the question. 

“Who could drink the most hot cocoa with their mouths filled with marshmallows.” Renata skipped over to the kitchen with the rest of her family.

“You got eggnog!” Marlon’s eyes danced with excitement at the sight while he helped put away groceries. 

“Couldn’t have Christmas without it,” Carley gave a warm smile that dissipated when she saw two large white sticky blobs in the kitchen sink. One look towards her children made it clear who the culprits were. “Renata, Mitch, clean this up please.”

“But, Carley-” Mitch started to argue but saw the look in Carley’s eyes and shut up immediately. The two siblings groaned as they worked to clean up their mess while the others finished putting away the groceries. 

“Once we have everything put away, we can bring in the tree.”  
Prisha’s eyes brightened at that and she moved quicker in helping out. When all the groceries were put away the family moved outside to the car where the tree remained tied on top. Lee went to work right away to help untie the tree along with Marlon and Mitch. As soon as the knots were loose the family worked to carry the tree. Carley led the way followed by Marlon who stood in front of Prisha. Next in line was Renata then Aasim, lastly were Clementine and Mitch who insisted on taking the base since he figured it would be the heaviest. Lee stood at the back and made sure the weight was distributed before speaking up.

“Alright Car, we’re good to go.” 

With that confirmation Carley started moving forward and within minutes they were inside the house and working to set up the tree into the tree holder.

“A bit more to the left,” Carley instructed. The kids worked to push the tree as their mom tried to get the tree centered. “Alright, we’re good.” The kids all let out sighs of relief before they noticed Lee working to press the screws in place to hold the tree up. Aasim immediately moved to help along with Clementine and with the three sets of hands the tree was set. 

“Okay, let's split up the work. Renata, can you start the Christmas music?” Lee smiled over at his daughter.

“Sure thing, Pops.” Renata slid across the floor and started the music while Lee and Carley worked to split up their kids into the most fitting roles. “Surprise!” Renata ran forward and started to put Santa hats on everyone. Some members of her family looked touched by the gesture such as Marlon and Clementine who both thanked their sister after she put the hats on their heads, while others seemed less enthusiastic about the whole thing.

“Why do I get the shitty one?” Mitch huffed, snatching the pink sparkly Santa hat off his head and throwing it on the ground.

Renata gave a dramatic gasp. “How dare! I gave you Mom’s prized Christmas hat and you toss it on the ground!”

“I’m not surprised,” Prisha replied with a hand on her hip. 

Mitch repeated the sentence in a mocking tone, causing his eldest sister’s eyes to narrow in anger. 

“Alright, alright,” Lee stepped in between his kids with his hands outstretched. “I’ll wear the special pink hat.” 

Renata’s eyes sparkled at that and with a big hop she placed the hat on Lee’s head. With that argument under control, Lee and Carley continued to split up the tasks. After a few minutes the teams of two were beginning their work. Renata and Clementine stood on opposite sides of the tree and began to string up the lights. The pair of sisters giggled as they tossed the pile of lights back and forth, haphazardly draping them over the tree’s form. After a few minutes the two stepped back and smiled over at Lee.

“Look, Lee,” Clementine held out her hands and displayed the tree alongside Renata who was being her usual dramatic self. 

Lee looked at the tree that had weird lumps of lights that tangled and swirled around it. “I think you two gave it a good try. But why don’t we start again - I’ll help out this time.”

Renata and Clementine shared a sad look but that quickly faded. 

“Okay!” Renata’s smile grew when Lee gave her and Clementine each a head pat before the trio worked to untangle the lights on the tree and start again. Prisha and Aasim glanced up from their spot on the floor.

“Pass me that next box,” Aasim held out his hand and Prisha gave him the box of Christmas ornaments. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Prisha gave a short smile. The pair worked in silence, unraveling the different ornaments and organizing them into different categories. The brother and sister were starting to get along through the simple act of Christmas organizing. But that all went away when Lee came by to check to see how they were doing.

“Hey you two, how are you doing? Need an eggnog break?” Lee’s warm smile made his son return it in kind but it didn’t seem to work on Prisha.

“No thank you, Lee.” Prisha immediately returned to her work but her statement seemed to have rubbed Aasim the wrong way as he looked at Prisha with annoyance.

“You should call him Dad.” Aasim’s statement made Prisha’s eyes shot up. Lee looked alarmed by what was happening and was about to speak up when Prisha beat him to it.

“I won’t since he isn’t my dad. If you want me to call him that, then why don’t you stop being a hypocrite first and call our mom Mom.” Prisha’s tone had some bite to it that made Aasim stand up.

“No, I won’t do that. I thought you knew that but I guess you can’t comprehend that with your puny mind.”

“What was that!” Prisha hissed and jumped to her feet. The argument had caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look at the two siblings. “If we want to talk about small minds, then we don’t have to look anywhere else,” Prisha pointed at her brother with a smirk. “Because it's right here.”  
Aasim’s anger reached a new level, his eyes hardening as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“Enough, you two,” Carley stood in between them with her arms crossed. “Now both of you apologize for what you said and we can return to having Christmas fun.”

“But, Mother,” Prisha began but the look in Carley’s eyes made it clear she would lose the argument. 

“Fine,” Aasim walked forward and held out his hand. “Let’s move forward.”

“Apologize first,” Prisha glared at him. 

Aasim looked shocked “ What? Why? You started this whole thing!”

“I did not!!” Prisha huffed. 

“Alright, you two, apologize and move on or else both of you will get in trouble.” Lee moved forward with a stern look. All the other kids were watching their siblings in tense silence. Marlon and Clementine hoped that they could move past this and continue the decoration while Mitch and Renata seemed more interested in the chaotic route their siblings could take. Prisha stared at her brother’s extended hand and walked forward only to slither around the hand, walking past it. 

“Prisha!” Carley scolded her daughter, but before she could continue Aasim spoke up.

“See! I told you it was all her fault!”

“My fault! I didn’t ask for some snotty sibling!” 

“I could say the same thing!” Aasim snapped back.

“My family was perfect before you-” Prisha was cut off when Carley spoke up once more.

“Enough!” Her voice made all the siblings grow silent. All of their gazes looked towards the floor. They couldn’t believe Prisha had said that even if all of them had felt that to some varying degree during their first few months as this new family. Carley stared at both of her kids then back towards her husband. “Lee, can you grab the sweater?”

Lee gave a short nod and ran off towards his study. All the siblings shared a look, lost as to what that could mean. After a minute, Lee returned with a big, ugly Christmas sweater that had the words _Our Getting Along Sweater_ on it. It only took a moment for Aasim and Prisha to get what their punishment was going to be.

“Wait, no, I apologize.” Aasim looked toward his sister frantically. “Accept it, Prisha.”  
“I accept, I apologize too,” Prisha hoped that it wasn’t too late to get out of the punishment.

“Sorry, kids.” Lee gave a smile. “But rules are rules.” Carley and Lee worked together and got the sweater over the brother and sister who look less than thrilled to be stuck together. 

“Now you two will be stuck in that sweater for twenty minutes. If either of you make a mean comment about each other or say anything bad about this family, Lee and I will extend the timer.”

“Holy shit,” Mitch laughed wildly and fell off the couch where he was sitting. Renata joined into the laughter too and even though they tried to hide it, Clementine and Marlon had small smiles on their faces. Prisha and Aasim shared a mortified look before their faces fell. 

“Now that that's done, I’m going to set up the reindeer display with Marlon and Mitch,” Carley leaned over, kissing Lee before giving his hand a quick squeeze.

“Alright, have fun.” Lee had a goofy smile on his face from the kiss. 

Carley stole one more look then turned her attention to her sons. “Okay, who's ready?” she smiled over at the pair of brothers.

“I am,” Marlon held up his share of the reindeer. Mitch gave a mumbled response and with Carley’s help started to carry out the display. Once they had dropped off the reindeer Mitch sprinted around, slipping and sliding as he worked on the display.

“Careful,” Carley called out to her son who seemed too caught up in setting up the reindeer to listen. Marlon worked alongside his brother and soon the display was all set up. Carley got the cord and held it by the outlet. “So who should do the honors?”  
Me, me, me!” Marlon and Mitch chanted at the same time before frowning at each other. Carley let out a small half chuckle. 

“Why don’t we all do it together?” The suggestion was received well and after placing a few fingers each on the cord, Carley started continuing up. “One… two.. Three!” The plug went into the outlet and lit up the white reindeer, giving them an ethereal glow on the snow-covered lawn. Mitch and Marlon stared in awe at the sight and shared a happy grin.

“Good job, you two,” Carley held up her hand, offering the chance at a high five. Marlon took the opportunity right away, his smile growing wider when he saw how happy it had made his mom. Mitch looked hesitant at the idea but moved forward and high fived with enthusiasm. Carley was taken aback by the strength but even more so by how happy Mitch looked at the high five. 

“Let’s go back inside and see what else we can put up for decorations.” 

The two brothers nodded and ran back inside, leaving Carley to bring up the rear. Once inside they saw that Renata and Clementine were setting up some more decorations. Lee had placed Clementine on his shoulders and was being navigated by Renata who held the wreath they were trying to put up.

“Yeah! Yeah! Right there!” Renata giggled and stood on her tiptoes to hand off the wreath to her sister. The trio cheered amongst themselves when they had successfully placed the wreath on the upper part of the wall. The odd placement made Carley think that Renata had asked for the wreath to be placed there. 

Carley’s eyes looked over to see Aasim and Prisha still working hard on the ornaments, a more somber expression on each of their faces. She hated to put a damper on their moods but their fight had escalated to a point where they needed to have consequences. Her eyes stopped when they saw the vacation Santa that held a saxophone in one of the boxes. A small smile appeared on her lips at the story Lee had told of how Kenny had gifted him that many Christmases ago. Marlon and Mitch followed her gaze and soon smiles appeared on their faces as they ran over to get it. Carley moved forward, passing Prisha and Aasim who were talking amongst themselves.

“No, no, no. This should go in the fragile pile.” Aasim tutted as he took an ornament and moved it. 

“You’re a fragile pile,” Prisha muttered under her breath. 

“That's another five minutes,” Carley remarked as she strolled by, causing the pair of siblings to look shocked by the time increase. 

“Good going, now we’re stuck in this sweater for even longer thanks to you. Who’s the dumb Indian child now?” Aasim smirked.

“That another five minutes,” Lee commented as he carried both Clementine and Renata across the room. Prisha and Aasim stared in disbelief then fell backwards with annoyed groans. Carley looked at them for a moment before Marlon’s voice drew her attention back to the task at hand.

“Mom, you put the batteries in wrong.”

“Hmmm, oh damn it,” Carley looked down at the batteries. She had in fact put the negative where it was clear the positive side of the battery should be.

“It’s no big deal,” Mitch grabbed the batteries and rearranged them. Marlon gave a reassuring smile towards Carley before the trio screwed the battery holder back in place. Just as before the three of them pushed the button together, causing jazzy Christmas tunes to play as Santa did a little dance. Everyone seemed intrigued by the funny Christmas display and took turns pressing the button. 

After that was done they were finally ready to work on putting the ornaments on the tree. Clementine worked alongside Prisha, placing their favorites on the tree. Meanwhile Renata was hopping up and down to reach a spot when Marlon offered to help. Aasim worked with Carley, even though it was a bit of a struggle since he was still stuck in the sweater with Prisha. Aasim placed some ornaments and listened as Carley told the tales behind some of her favorites then proceeded to share some of his own. Mitch worked with Lee, getting on his shoulders to place the star up. When that was done, Lee moved to plug in the lights. Everyone watched in excited anticipation. When the bright lights of red, green, yellow and blue shone on the tree, the family gave a cheer.

“So, who’s ready for some hot cocoa?” Lee asked with a smile.

“Can I have eggnog too?” Marlon kicked his foot on the ground.

“Sure,” Carley placed a hand on his shoulder. “But only a little bit if you’re having both.”

“We can have both?!” Renata practically fell from her spot on the chair. Soon the other siblings joined in the discussion of what drinks they wanted. The family was starting to make their way to the kitchen when Clementine saw Aasim and Prisha still in their Christmas sweater, sitting on the couch. They both looked tired

“I can get you guys some drinks.” Clementine offered. Aasim and Prisha both gave small smiles to their youngest sibling, thanking her for generosity before saying that they both wanted hot cocoa. As the hot cocoa was made and distributed around the family, all of them sat around the front living room. Different Christmas-based conversations were brought up by each side of the family giving some tales from their past Christmases. When Renata was in the middle of her retelling of the Christmas where Prisha’s head had gotten stuck in one of Clementine’s animal skulls, she was shushed by her mom.

“Shh, a little quieter, Renata.” Carley gestured over to Prisha and Aasim whose heads were leaning against each other as they slept in their joined ugly Christmas sweater. Lee tiptoed forward and tossed a white winter blanket over the sleeping siblings. 

“Oh,” Marlon got excited about an idea but quickly quieted down. 

“What is it?” Carley leaned forward to place down her empty mug.

“I just wanted to….” Marlon fidgeted with his mug. “I learned how to play “Silent Night” on the guitar. Well, I’m learning it and I wanna play what I know so far if that's okay.”

“He’s really good,” Clementine gave a warm smile to her brother. Renata gave an excited squeal but immediately cupped her mouth when Prisha muttered in her sleep and stirred for a moment. 

“Why don’t you get your guitar,” Lee whispered over to Marlon.

Marlon quietly made his way over and grabbed his guitar. Slowly he began to play the notes, forming a soft, sweet melody of the classic Christmas song. The family sat back and enjoyed the moment. Lee and Carley sat beside each other, their fingers intertwining as they listened to the song. It had been a chaotic time decorating for their first Christmas, but it had ended on a happy note. It had been fun. Looking at the expressions on their kids’ faces, it seemed they felt the same way.


End file.
